Free Rise of the Billionaire by Ruth Cardello Page A

Monday morning and to have an overnight bag ready.”
    “You did that?” Marie asked with happy surprise.
    Jeremy grinned, unable to conceal the pride he felt in his confident order. “I did.” Then he sobered. “Now I have to figure out where to take her. Where did Dominic take Abby on their first date?”
    Suddenly serious, Marie leaned over and placed a hand on Jeremy’s. “It doesn’t matter where they went . This journey is all about you and Jeisa.”
    Jeremy shrugged, uncomfortable with her correction. “I don’t want to disappoint her.”
    Marie lightly squeezed his hand. “When a man plans something special for a woman he cares about, there’s no room for disappointment. Choose something you know she enjoys doing.”
    Feeling a weight settle on his chest, Jeremy admitted, “That’s a problem, then, because we’ve spent most of our time together talking about my goals and what I want. I don’t really know what she likes.”
    Marie smiled again. “She likes you. Even I know that. A smart man like you will figure the rest out.”
    Jeremy stood, sudden inspiration hitting him. “I ’ve got it.” He returned to his desk and started typing on his laptop. “You’re a genius, Marie. I know how to find out what she likes.”
    Marie went to stand behind him. “Jeremy .” She stretched out his name as a warning.
    Jeremy was too excited by what he was uncovering to let her concern slow him down. “She doesn’t even use number s or symbols in her passwords. That was the easiest code to break. I’ll have to talk to her about that.”
    Marie put a hand on his shoulder. “This wasn’t what I meant, Jeremy.”
    Jeremy pointed to his screen and said, “Marie, you said that I need to know what she likes. Well, what better way to do that than to check out her recent searches online?” He tapped the screen when a local florist came up. “She has a standing order for a weekly delivery of a bouquet of flowers native to Brazil, but she states that she wants it to be different each week.” He took a moment to digest what it meant. “So, she misses Brazil and likes surprises.” He continued to scroll through the information, his fingers furiously taking him from link to link. He paused on one page and said, “Hey, she searched for information about me while I was gone.” He smiled back at Marie, who simply shook her head at him.
    His lightheartedness fell away as his searches revealed more. He covered the page with his hand when he stumbled upon a personal purchase. Heat filled his face. He said, “I love that she has one, but you shouldn’t see this, Marie.”
    Marie stepped away from the computer and cautioned Jeremy , “Just because it’s easy for you to do, Jeremy, doesn’t make it right.”
    Jeremy reassured her. “I won’t read more than I need. I promise. As soon as I find something that makes for a perfect date, I’ll stop.”
    Marie leaned over and closed the laptop on his fingers. “Take her to California. There is a university out there that is working on a prototype for a toilet they say will improve the living conditions in third world countries. Jeisa is very interested in that research. Interested enough to consider moving out there to be part of the project.”
    Jeremy eased his fingers out of his laptop. His own mother had never tried to rein him in, perhaps because she’d always felt guilty for how much she’d asked of him. Marie had no such qualms. He had a greater respect for her and her relationship with Dominic now that he’d seen this side of her.
    Toilets?
    Marie was never wrong, but Jeisa hadn’t given any indication of being interested in them.
    Toilets, huh? He couldn’t suppress his smile. Is it possible that beneath her sexy façade there beats the heart of a geek?
    While cautiously watching Marie out of the corner of his eye, he slowly reopened his laptop and did a quick search for the project she’d mentioned. After reading the university’s article on the